Contested Lands

Ruined and depopulated by constant war, The Contested Lands at the intersection of all four Younger Realms were functionally abandoned centuries ago. This unsettled gap of political power is home to the mages of the School of Ink and Quill and their library fortress, the Vellum Citadel. While officially neutral and committed to the collection and dissemination of knowledge, the Sages have, for centuries, hoarded their wisdom and manipulated the other realms into cycles of war.

Background
Unofficially established in the second century of human civilization in the Tiers, the Contested Lands are a patch of mountains and forests that changed hands so many times as to become politically undesirable to all of its neighbors. During a particularly long stretch of peace, the Sages of the School of Ink and Quill built the Vellum Citadel, and this has been the only permanent settlement in the Contested Lands to date.

These lands lay at the intersection of all four Younger Realms. Ruined and depopulated by constant war, they were functionally abandoned centuries ago. This unsettled gap of sovereign power became the home of the mages of the School of Ink and Quill and their library fortress, the Vellum Citadel. Prior to Kyros’ conquest of the Tiers, the Sages declared political neutrality and committed themselves to the collection and dissemination of knowledge. In reality, the Sages hoarded their wisdom and manipulated other realms into cycles of war for centuries. This all came to a dramatic end when Kyros’ Edict of Fire brought forth volcanic eruptions that turned the Contested Lands into a burning, ash-strewn wasteland.